Apparatus for displacing slidable structures



Jan. 29, 1963 J. WERNER 3,075,407

APPARATUS FOR DISPLACING SLIDABLE STRUCTURES Filed Jan. 14, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 29, 1963 J. WERNER APPARATUS FOR DISPLACING SLIDABLE STRUCTURES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 14, 1959 United States Patent Office 3,075,407 Patented Jan. 29, 1963 3,075,407 APPARATUS FOR DISPLACING SLIDABLE STRUCTURES Johannes Werner, Offenbach (Main), Germany, assignor to H. T. Golde G.M.B.H., & Co. K.G., Frankfurt am Main, Germany Filed Jan. 14, 1959, Ser. No. 786,862 Claims priority, application Germany Jan. 28, 1958 2 Claims. (Cl. 74-625) This invention relates to an apparatus for displacing a slidable structure.

At present, for opening and closing the sliding roofs of motor cars, it is sometimes necessary to employ relatively powerful electric motors. However, use of those motors is liable to lead to accidents such as those caused, for example, by children putting their hands in the paths of sliding roofs which are about to close. To prevent such accidents, it has already been proposed to provide contacts at theforward edges of the frames of sliding roofs, the response of these contacts to pressure being such as to switch off or reverse the associated motors. It will be appreciated that such arrangements are only effective when a sliding roof is near its forward end position.

According to the present invention, there is provided an apparatus, for displacing a slidable structure, comprising an automatic rotary driving means, a first shaft in driving connection with said driving means, a first friction-clutch member in driving connection with said first shaft, a second shaft spaced apart from said first shaft, a second friction-clutch member in driving connection with said second shaft for co-operation with said first friction-clutch member, and a device in driving connection with said second shaft for transforming rotary motion of said second shaft into linear motion of said slidable structure.

In order that the present invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 shows a plan view of a portion of an apparatus for displacing a slidable structure,

FIGURE 2 shows a partly-sectional side elevation of almost the same portion as that shown in FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 shows a partly-sectional plan view of nearly the same portion as that shown in FIGURE 2, and

FIGURE 4 shows a section taken along the line IV IV in FIGURE 3.

Referring to the drawings, the slidable structure, in this case the sliding roof of a motor vehicle, is arranged to be driven by means of an electric motor 1. The motor 1 is connected, by way of a clutch 2a, to a shaft 2 having keyed thereon a worm 3. The latter co-operates with a worm-wheel 4 mounted on a shaft 16 by means of a key 4a. The helix angle of the worm 3 is sufficiently small to make the worm gear irreversible. The shaft 16 has a threaded portion 16a which co-operates with a nut 17 mounted thereon. Encircling the shaft 16 are two pairs of spring washers 6 and 6a between which is mounted an annular helical gear wheel 5, the spring washers 6 and 6a and the gear wheel being pressed between the worm-wheel =4 and the nut 17. A lock-nut 18 serves to maintain the nut 17 at the required location along the shaft 16. The gear-wheel 5 co-operates with a gear wheel 7 mounted on a shaft 8 by means of a key 7a. As can be seen from the drawings, the members 3 to 8 form a reduction gear. It will be appreciated that the driving connection between the gear wheel 5 and the shaft 16 is due only to the friction between abutting surfaces of the worm-wheel 4, the nut 17, the gear wheel 5 and the spring washers 6 and 6a. Thus the just-mentioned members form a friction clutch connecting the two shafts 16 and 8 which are spaced apart from one another. One end zone of the shaft 8 takes the form of an internally threaded bushing 10 which is encircled by two co-axial, annular gear wheels 11 and 12, and which is disposed, together with those two gear wheels, in a housing 9. One side of the gear wheel 11 co-operates with a threaded torsion-resistant cable 14 and the opposite side of the gear wheel 12 co-operates with a threaded, torsion-resistant cable 15. The gear wheel 11 is arranged to abut a radial flange 10a formed on the shaft 8 near the relevant end thereof, and the gear wheel 12 is arranged to abut the gear wheel 11 and to project slightly beyond the adjacent end of the shaft 8. A bolt 13 passes through a washer 13a into the bore of the bushing 10 and cooperates with the thread in the bore.

The arrangement is such that when the bolt 13 is loose, the two gear wheels 11 and 12 can rotate relative to one another and to the bushing 10, whereas when the bolt 13 is tightened, the washer 13a passes the gear wheel 12 against the gear wheel 11 and presses the latter against the flange 10a. Upon the latter condition rotation of the shaft 8 causes rotation of the gear wheels 11 and 12 therewith, and thus movement of the cables 14 and 15 lengthwise in opposite directions, provided that there is sufiicient friction between abutting radial-faces of the gear wheels. When the bolt is loose, the effective lengths of the cables 14 and 15 can be adjusted by simply pulling each cable separately until the desired effective lengths are attained, the cables being subsequently coupled to one another and to the shaft 8 by tightening the bolt 13. For better grip between abutting radial-faces, suitable roughening, for example milling, of those faces can be provided and/or resilient washers can be interposed between adjacent faces.

The cables 14 and 15 run in flexible tubes 24 attached to the housing 9 by means of internally threaded collars 25 engaging with respective externally threaded bushings projecting from the housing.

A radial face 19 of the gear wheel 7 is formed with bevel teeth 19, there being a bevel pinion 20 arranged to co-operate with the teeth 19. The pinion 20 is mounted an and rotatable with a shaft 21, formed with a flat at 21a, for co-operation with a correspondingly-shaped bushing 23 forming part of a hand crank 22.

If, when the sliding roof is being displaced, the movement thereof is obstructed, the movements of the cables, the gear wheels 11 and 12, the shaft 8, and the gear wheels 7 and 5 are arrested. Meanwhile, the motor 1 is driving the worm gear 3, 4, and the shaft 16 at the same speed as before. Consequently, the provision of the friction clutch enables the gear wheel 5 to slip relative to the shaft 16 and thus temporarily to prevent the motor 1 from driving the sliding roof. The maximum torque transmitted by the friction clutch depends on the external force applied to the spring washers, i.e. on the extent to which the nut 17 is tightened. It is a simple matter to adjust this maximum torque by tightening or slackening the nut 17. Furthermore, this maximum torque should, for example, be suflicient to overcome the friction produced by the guideway of the sliding roof and suitable for allowing the locking means of the sliding roof to be operated after the roof has been closed.

If there were not provided a means for arresting move ment of the roof when an obstruction is encountered, upon such an obstruction being met, the torque applied to the motor would increase excessively and this would result in overloading of the motor. In the present case, however, due to the provision of the friction clutch, the torque is limited, and the motor only has to overcome the frictional force in the friction clutch. After the friction clutch amass? has come into operation, the motor 1 can be switched off manually or even automatically.

Should the electric motor 1 break down, and an enter gency drive be necessary, the hand crank 22 can be fitted onto the shaft 21, which idles while the electric motor is in operation, and the crank 22 can be manually rotated to drive the sliding roof. Rotation of the crank 22 causes simultaneous rotation of the gear wheel 5. However, since the worm gear is irreversible, the shaft 16 cannot rotate, and thus the friction clutch permits the gear wheel 5 to rotate relative to the shaft 16.

The friction clutch need not take the form of a set of spring washers, but that form is the most advantageous. Moreover, the friction clutch has the advantage that it can become operative in any position of the sliding roof.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for driving a slidable roof, said apparatus comprising a motor, a first shaft coupled to and driven by said motor, a Worm on said shaft, a Worm wheel, a second shaft perpendicular to said first shaft and connected to and supporting said worm wheel in engagement with said worm whereby said second shaft can be rotated by said motor, a first gear wheel loosely rotatable on said second shaft, disc springs on said shaft on opposite sides of said gear wheel, means for controllably urging said springs and gear wheel axially against said worm wheel whereby the latter drives said gear wheel, a third shaft parallel to said second shaft, a second gear wheel on and connected to said third shaft and engaged with said first gear wheel,

a flange fixed on said third shaft, annular gear means free- 1y rotatable on said third shaft, means for urging said annular gear means against said flange for connection to said third shaft, first and second cables respectively engaged with said annular gear means on diametrally opposed sides of the latter and adapted for said driving of said slidable roof, and means operatively associated with said third shaft for manually driving the same.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the latter said means comprises bevel teeth on said second gear wheel, a bevel pinion engaged with said teeth, and a manually operable handle coupled to said bevel pinion to drive the same.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 21,623 Bacon Nov. 19, 1940 1,481,512 Kelly Jan. 22 1924 1,651,959 Meyers Dec. 6, 1927 1,858,624 Hess etal May 17, 1932 2,004,918 Mitchell June 11, 1935 2,211,788 Lucht Aug. 20, 1940 2,375,422 Leland May 8, 1945 2,441,505 Ochtman May 11, 1948 2,581,171 Carlson Jan. 1, 1952 2,621,543 Rossman Dec. 16, 1952 2,665,904 Lehmann Jan. 12, 1954 2,709,220 Spector May 24, 1955 

1. APPARATUS FOR DRIVING A SLIDABLE ROOF, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING A MOTOR, A FIRST SHAFT COUPLED TO AND DRIVEN BY SAID MOTOR, A WORM ON SAID SHAFT, A WORM WHEEL, A SECOND SHAFT PERPENDICULAR TO SAID FIRST SHAFT AND CONNECTED TO AND SUPPORTING SAID WORM WHEEL IN ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID WORM WHEREBY SAID SECOND SHAFT CAN BE ROTATED BY SAID MOTOR, A FIRST GEAR WHEEL LOOSELY ROTATABLE ON SAID SECOND SHAFT, DISC SPRINGS ON SAID SHAFT ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID GEAR WHEEL, MEANS FOR CONTROLLABLY URGING SAID SPRINGS AND GEAR WHEEL AXIALLY AGAINST SAID WORM WHEEL WHEREBY THE LATTER DRIVES SAID GEAR WHEEL, A THIRD SHAFT PARALLEL TO SAID SECOND SHAFT, A SECOND GEAR WHEEL ON AND CONNECTED TO SAID THIRD SHAFT AND ENGAGED WITH SAID FIRST GEAR WHEEL, A FLANGE FIXED ON SAID THIRD SHAFT, ANNULAR GEAR MEANS FREELY ROTATABLE ON SAID THIRD SHAFT, MEANS FOR URGING SAID ANNULAR GEAR MEANS AGAINST SAID FLANGE FOR CONNECTION TO SAID THIRD SHAFT, FIRST AND SECOND CABLES RESPECTIVELY ENGAGED WITH SAID ANNULAR GEAR MEANS ON DIAMETRALLY OPPOSED SIDES OF THE LATTER AND ADAPTED FOR SAID DRIVING OF SAID SLIDABLE ROOF, AND MEANS OPERATIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH SAID THIRD SHAFT FOR MANUALLY DRIVING THE SAME. 